IFK Mariehamn

Football club infobox
clubname = IFK Mariehamn


fullname = Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna Mariehamn
nickname = "Grönvitt" (Green White)
"Saarelaiset" (The Islanders)
founded = 1919
ground = Wiklöf Holding Arena, Mariehamn
capacity = 4000
chairman = Mikael Granskog
manager = Pekka Lyyski
league = Veikkausliiga
season = 2007
position = Veikkausliiga, 6th
website = [http://www.ifkmariehamn.com]
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IFK Mariehamn is a Finnish football club, based in Mariehamn, capital of the Åland Islands. It currently plays in the Finnish Premier Division ("Veikkausliiga"). The club's manager is Pekka Lyyski, and it plays its home matches at "Wiklöf Holding Arena".

History

While IFK Mariehamn was formed in 1919, the sports club did not have a football section until the mid-1930s. Initially the team participated primarily in local tournaments on Åland, only sporadically playing other Finnish or Swedish teams. The team has participated in the Finnish football leagues since 1945.
Until the 1970s, IFK Mariehamn played primarily in the Finnish football divisions 3 and 4. The club reached a peak in 1975 and 1976, when the club first advanced to division 2 and then reached division 1 ("Ykkönen") the following year. After two seasons in division 1, IFK Mariehamn was relegated to division 2, where it would remain up until the 2000s, except for a few seasons in division 3 during the early 1990s.
In 2003, IFK Mariehamn returned to division 1. After only one season in division 1, the club advanced, for the first time in its history to the premier league of Finnish football, the Veikkausliiga, for the 2005 season. In its first season in the "Veikkausliiga", IFK Mariehamn finished 12th out 14 teams. In 2006, the club finished in 5th place and the year after 6th after an impressive run of unbeaten matches during the autumn of 2007.

In addition to playing in the "Veikkausliiga", IFK Mariehamn participates in local Åland tournaments, having won the Åland cup 40 times and the Åland football championships 42 times. In recent years, the club has been the most dominant football team on Åland, having in 2008 won its 11th and 15th straight titles in these two events, respectively.

IFK is semi-professional if not a fully-amateur club. Many of the players have full time jobs. Nevertheless IFK has succeeded quite well in the country's top flight, where most players are full time professionals.

Division history

* 1945 - 1971: Divisions 3 and 4 (two seasons)
* 1972: Division 2
* 1973 - 1975: Division 3
* 1976: Division 2
* 1977 - 1978: Division 1
* 1979 - 1990: Division 2
* 1991 - 1992: Division 3
* 1993 - 2003: Division 2
* 2004: Division 1
* 2005 - : "Veikkausliiga" (Premier division)

Current squad

Notable players

* Daniel Sjölund, currently in Djurgårdens IF, and formerly in West Ham and Liverpool, and a regular in the Finnish national football team
* Mikael Granskog, former player in IFK Norrköping and in the Finnish national team
* Anders Eriksson, former player in Östers IF and in the Finnish national team

External links

*sv icon [http://www.ifkmariehamn.com/ Official website]
*sv icon [http://www.greenmeanmachine.com/ GMM - The fan club]